LEARNING A PARTIAL-WEIGHT-BEARING SKILL - EFFECTIVENESS OF 2 FORMS OFFEEDBACK

Background and Purpose. Partial weight bearing (PWB) is a skill common ly taught by physical therapists. This study compared the effects of p ractice with either augmented feedback provided during the task (concu rrent feedback) or augmented feedback provided after the task (postres ponse feedback) for the learning of PWB with crutches. Subjects. Sixty young adults without known impairment of the neuromusculoskeletal sys tem volunteered for the study. Methods. Subjects practiced supporting 30% of body weight while stepping onto a floor scale. Augmented feedba ck was provided during each trial for the concurrent feedback group an d either following each trial or after every five trials for the postr esponse feedback groups. Subjects returned 2 days later for a no-feedb ack retention test. Results. During practice, the concurrent feedback group was more accurate and consistent than either of the postresponse feedback groups. During retention, however, the postresponse feedback groups were the most accurate; all groups were equally consistent dur ing retention. Conclusion and Discussion. These results suggest that p ractice with concurrent feedback is beneficial for the immediate perfo rmance but not for the learning of this sensorimotor skill.